CHAMBERSBURG -- Nick Jones stood at the free throw line with his Archbishop Carroll team up by two points and a potential berth in the state title game on the line.

As if that weren't enough pressure for a sophomore -- or anyone, really -- to handle, Jones admitted to freezing up a little bit when he weighed everything that was at stake.

"I was in shock," Jones said. "I was just trying to stay focused. I didn't know what to think."

Jones cocked back and fired for all the marbles. His shot bounced off nearly every part of the rim before dropping in to stretch the lead to three, then with the chance to ice the game, Jones again made sure the ball touched everywhere on the rim before falling in.

By then, the damage had been done, but just to make sure, he split his free throws on the next trip down the court as an exclamation point on the Patriots' 50-45 win over Montour in a PIAA Class AAA semifinal at Chambersburg. With the win, Carroll cemented a spot in its first state title game since 2009. The Patriots will take on Imhotep Charter, a 56-54 winner over Donegal, in an all-District 12 title game Friday night at Hershey's Giant Center at 8.

"The feeling is unbelievable," center Ernest Aflakpui said. "It cannot be expressed with words because we've worked hard and we're thankful for this opportunity."

It marked a fitting ending for Jones in a game where he had to take over the floor-general duties down the stretch. After staking the Patriots to a 44-33 lead with a layup and an and-one, All-Delco point guard Yosef Yacob fouled out after picking up two fouls in a span of 10 seconds. Losing Yacob, the savviest, smartest player and Carroll's best free-throw shooter, had immediate repercussions for the Patriots as their lead went up in smoke and turned into a 45-45 deadlock on the strength of a 12-1 Spartans run.

Coincidence? Unlikely, especially considering the Spartans had the experience of playing in back-to-back state title games. The WPIAL champion had been through and seen just about everything.

"That's the first time I've ever fouled out in my high school career," said Yacob, who finished with 10 points and three assists. "I didn't even know I had five. I couldn't believe it. You're helpless. You're just sitting there and you're helpless."

The Patriots, though, wouldn't let Yacob's career end with him stapled to the bench. After Montour star guard Devin Wilson tied the game with a pair of free throws, Carroll got the ball to Aflakpui, who dumped in a layup for the game-winning points with 44 seconds to go. The Spartans got a clean look when Rob Julian pulled up for a mid-range jumper, but his shot clanged off the rim and into the hands of Joe Mostardi to set up Jones' free throws.

"I had a lot of pressure on me," Jones said. "I was scared, but I knew I had to lead our team."

As it turned out, though, Jones had a lot of help from his massive friends in the paint in Aflakpui and forward Derrick Jones. The latter was completely unstoppable in the first half, pairing 16 points with eight rebounds en route to a ridiculous 21-point, 16-rebound, two-block effort that's become about par for the course for him of late.

Of course, it helped that Wilson, a guard, was Montour's tallest player at 6-4, so Jones and the Patriots (23-6) knew that there would be a big advantage for the bigs. Aflakpui, who had a career-high 15 points, and Jones combined to shoot 15-for-24 from the field to help seal the Spartans' fate.

"It felt good," Aflakpui said, "to know that the offense has to go through you, to go through Derrick and I. It was a great feeling. We just kept our heads straight, we knew we had to play hard and everything would be all right."

Jones admitted that it was extra sweet to defy modest expectations that had been set for the Patriots.

"It's big," Jones said. "A lot of people thought we weren't going to do anything (or) do big things because we were a young team, but we were a young team with talent. A couple of our young players had experience, so we just did good."

Carroll coach Paul Romanczuk knew that his team had defied expectations by booking its date in Hershey, but didn't seem too concerned about those expectations.

"Wow," Romanczuk said. "I don't know how many people, in the beginning of the year and even toward the end of the year, would have said that this would be our fate, but I'm really proud of this team."

With the Patriots being one step away from a state title, there's a lot to be proud of.